Gun-carriage.



A. ANDERSON.

GUN CARRIAGE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-16.19%.

1,239,860. PatentedSept. 11, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

A. ANDERSON.

GUN CARRIAGE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16. 1916.

Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

'4 SHFIETSASHEE r, 2.

flame/0Z5? A. ANDERSON.

GUN CARRIAGE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16. 19m.

1,239,860. Patented Sept. 11,1917.

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GUN CARRIAGE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.16. 19w.

Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

11H Hllllllllll UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLPH ANDERSON, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR '10 AURORA, AUTOMATIC MACHINERY Co., or CHICAGO, ILLINQIS, A ConronA'rIon or nn nnwnnn.

' GUN-CARRIAGE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentedsept. 11 T91 Application filed August 16, 1916. Serial No. 115,306.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, ADOLPH ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gun-Carriages, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a gun carriage of the portable type, and more particularly adapted for use in connection with a machine or other'small caliber gun."

"'The objects of the invention are, to provide a carrier which is capable of attachment to a motorcycle, or similar propelling means; to provide a floor o'r platform which will carry both' the gun and a seat for the operator; to'provide means for turning the floor, whereby the gun may be swung to point in various directions, and to maintain the operator in the same position with respect to the gun, no matter in what direction the gun may be turned, by reason of the gun and seat' both being secured to the floor and hence held in the same relative position to one another; to provide means under the controljof the operator for turning said floor; to' provide a protecting wall attached to the floor and upwardly extending therefrom; to provide chambers adjacent said seat for carrying ammunition; to provide springs upon which the carriage is mounted; to provide means for rendering these springs substantially non-resilient when desired; to

provide a light yet substantial framework upon which the rotatable floor which carries the gun is mounted; and to provide antifriction means carried by theframe, and on which the floor or table travels 1n its revolvi ing movements.

The invention fu'rtherbonsists in the features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the carriage of the present invention attached to a motorcycle;

Fig. 2, a sectionon line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, and

' on a somewhat enlarged scale;

Fig. 3, a sectionon line 3 3 of Fig. 1, looking in the, direction of the arrows, and 011 a somewhat enlarged scale;

' Fig. 4, a detail plan view of the chassis of the carriage; i

Fig. 5, a detail section through the pawls and ratchets for rotating the floor 'of the carriage, and showing the shiftable member WlElCh acts to render the springs less resilien v Fig. 6,, a perspective detail of the pawl and ratchet mechanism; and

Fig. 7, a plan view of such mechanism.

Referring now to the" drawings, the car- I riage of the present invention is shown'in connection with a motorcylce 8, which may beofany suitable and well-known type, and the parts thereof will notbe described in connection with the present invention, especially" since it would be possible to attach this chassis to other propelling means than a motorcycle without departing from the spirit of the invention. The motorcycle is only illustrated to show one method which is deemed desirable for propelling the gun carriage.

The chassis of the carriage comprises a rod 9, made of one or more sections, which rod is connected to the motorcycle at one end 9 thereof, andis bent into loop-formation, with its opposite end 10 also connected to the motorcycle, and at a point upon said rod is placed a mounting 11 for a wheel 12, said wheel being provided with the usual mud-guard 13. Extending across from the opposed portions of the rod 9 is a rod 14, from which extends a rod 15, which latter is joined to the motorcycle body. All of the above parts may be made of metal tubing, 5

rendering the same light and strong.

Attached to the rods 9 and 14, as will be understood from Fig. 4, are holders 16, to which are secured leaf-springs 17. These springs have connected to each end thereof amember 18, formed on one end with studs 18 certain of which carry pi-pe'sections 19, which, when assembled, form a ring 19. The remaining studs receive'theends of pipes,

forming arms 20, and these arms,at their carriedby' theflQorQB, is a seat '25 for the operator, and upon each side of said seatis located a series of compartments for ammunition. Also carried the floor 23 is a gun 27, which,*in the form shown, is-of'the type known as machine gun, but may be of any suitable, type with which the carriage of" the presentinvention would be practicable" ofuse.

Said gun is provided'with the usual shield:

2S, and the gun and its associated mechanisms, togetherfwith. the' shield, .are'supported upon legs 29, thelower ends" of which are mounted'within sockets-30, attached to the floor. .Th'ese legs are three in number, as shown, and can be simply slipped into the socketsBO, in which case no fastening means of any nature areused forjholding the ends ofthe legs within the sockets. ;.This renders -the gun freelydetachabl from the floor and re nablesait to beverylquickly removed from the carriage and placed upon the ground and then returned'to the carriage. The tri- .pod:constructionshown makes'a very firm -and substantialrtbrace when the gun is unounted in thecarriage or placed outside i lln order to elevate the gun a worm 30 is J r-Employed, turned by a hand wheel 31., which operatesi upon a segment-32.;- The gun,;is capable offa swinging movement on a table 33 for a distance of about thirtydegrees eachvway from the, central position, independent of-the movement of the floor, and scan be raised or depressed about a center 84 and locked in such raised or depressed positi-on bymanipul'ation of a hand lever 34.

: Ithas been previously explained-that the .floor'28 is revolved in order to bring the gun to various locations, and that by having the .gun and seat for the operatorboth carvried by the floor, the operator .can always :mainta'in the same relative position with respect to the gun, as the gun is swung by turning the floor. In order to turn the floor, I'have provided a ratchet '35, which is secured to thefloor23, and this ratchet will be termed the upper movable ratchet.- This ratchet, together with the floor, moves about arod 36 asa pivot,-l which rodacts as ;a king bolt for these-parts. I have also ;pro .videda ratchet 37 which isattached to the hub 21. and this ratchet, will be termed} the lower fixed ratchet. y

EXtendin-gbetween .the movable and fixed .ratchets is anarm 38 and an arm 39, both a pivotedto the rod;36,;- The arm 38carries a :pawl .40, which-consists, of an upper portion '41hhavin'g anactingend 421and anjacting end 43; and secured to this upper. portion is alowerportion 44, having an actingjend 45.

- Theacting ends of the upper portion 41 cooperate with themovableratchet 35, and the acting end otthelower portion .44 co-acts with thefixed ratchet 3T. The arm 39 carspring 56 similar to the spring 52. 7 It hasbeen previously explained that lies a ratchet 46, similar "in construction and arrangement to the ratchet 40. The ratchet 40 is pivotally mounted by a pin 47 to the arm 38; and extending from theupp'erpor- 'tion 41 of-the ratchet 40 is an ear 48, to

which is connected a rod 49, which in turn is'joined to a pivoted lever 50 (Fig. 2),. which lever is equipped with ,a pedal mem- 'ber 51 at its upper end, and is held -nor mally in. backward position by means of a spring 52.

Connected to the pawl 46 is anear 53, similar tothe ear. 48. J oined-tothe ear. 581is a rod 54,-similar to the rod 49, which rod 54 is connected to, a lever 55, similar to the lever 59; and thelever 54 is formed with a pedal member 55 at its upper end. similar to the pedal, memhe1z5 1. This pedal member 55 is'held normally backward by meansof a ratchet .35 is, aflixed to the table or floor, 23,

.and hencej upon movement f this ratchet ..the table will be ,turned. Assume that the pedal .5l Fig. ;1') is operated This will pull the rod "49 in a forward direction, whichi swings the pawl 40 -upon its pivot 47,;bringing .thjeactingend 42 of said pEtWl ,ClI1l1O engagement withthe teeth of the ratchet 35. Continued; movement of the peClal will the j -swing the arm 38, whichcarries the p.awl40,

about its center' of -movement, carrying the pawl with it, and turning theratchet 35, .As this ratchet is connected to the .ytable, the table under such conditions will be turned ina counterclockwise direction; When the pawl is thus operated, the; acting end. 43 of the upper portion 41 and jthe acting end .45of the lower portion. 44, will be pulled out of, engagement with the respective ratchetswith which said ends engage but H under this condition the operator would not ,move the pedal- 55. Hence the ratchet 46 ;wouldjremain in thefp'osition shown in Fig. 7, and in this. position, the acting end '43, of

the upper portion 41,, andthe acting end 45 .of' the lower portion 44 of the ratchet 46, would be in engagement with the teeth of .the r'atchets 35 and 37 respectively, and since the ratchet 37 is fixed, it .is evident that the pawl 46 wi1-1,und er such conditions act to It will thus be. seen that operating L whichever of the pedals he desires, theop erator may s w1ng the floor carrying-the gun to any desired posltion; and owingto the fact that the seat for the operator is carried by the floor and turns therewith simultaneously with the gun, it is self-evident that movement is especially advantageous when it is desired to turn the gun about for the purpose of retreats.

The foregoing described means for turning the table is extremely quick and simple of operation, enabling a speedy turning of the gun in the direction desired, and leaves the hands of the operator free at all times for manipulation of the gun and the handling of ammunition. During the actual firing of the gun, it is desirable to eliminate as far as possible the sway and movement of the carriage, and if the springs were made sufiiciently strong to withstand this swaying movement, the device would be impractical for traveling over rough roads. On the other hand, with the spring of a nature to absorb the jars and joltsincident to travel, the gun carriage sways and vibrates to a degree which would be undesirable when the gun was being fired. 'I have therefore provided means for substantially taking out all resiliency from the springs, giving the gun carriage a practically rigid mount when desired.

The above means consists of a hand wheel 56, to which is joined the threaded rod 36, which has a threaded engagement with the hub 21 of the frame. The lower end 57 of this rod presses against a plate 58, which is connected to the holders 16 for the springs 17 (see Fig. 4:). When the wheel 56 is turned, it moves the rod 36 downward, causing the end 57 to push against the plate 58, and this plate being joined to the holders 16, which in turn are joined to the chassis and incapable of downward movement, such action of the stem 36 will cause the hub 21, ring 19, and associated parts comprising the frame, to move upward, carrying the floor 23 and associated parts upward, thus stretching the springs 17 and substantially taking the resiliency out of them.

When it is desired to replace the ordinary resiliency in the springs, the wheel 56 can be quickly manipulated for this purpose, to draw up the rod 36 out of pressing engagement with the plate 58.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that a gun carriage has been produced which enables a quick and easy shifting of the gun to various positions, and enables the operator to maintain a proper position with respect to the gun, no matter how the gun is shifted; and means are provided for making the gun carriage practically rigid and preventing the swaying thereof during firing. The seat for the operator, the gun, and the pedals which the operator actuates .to revolve the floor, all remain inthe same relative position to one another as the floor revolves, so that the operator remains always in proper position to operate the gun and pedal I claim:

1. A gun carriage, comprising a chassis, a floor adapted to revolve with respect to said chassis, a gun carried by the floor, a gunners seat carried by the floor, dog and ratchet mechanism for turning the floor, a pedal carried by the floor, a connection between said pedal and dog and ratchet mechanism, and said gear, seat and pedal all maintaining the same relative position with respect to one another as the floor is revolved, substantially as described. g

2. A gun carriage, comprising a chassis, a floor adapted to revolve with respect to the chassis, a gun carried by the floor, a gunners seat-carried by the floor, a spring connection between the floor and chassis, an adjustable rod serving as a king bolt about which the floor turns, and said rod when adjusted acting to distend said springs to remove the resiliency therefrom, 'substantially as described.

3. Agun carriagecomprising a chassis adapted for attachment to a propelling ve hicle, a floor rotatable with respect to the chassis, a gun carried by the floor, a gunne'rs seat carried by, the floor and located to the rear of the gun, means for rotating the floor, embodying a foot-operated member arranged forward of the seat, and said gun, seat and foot-operated member maintaining the same relative position with respect to one another during the rotative movements of the floor, substantially as described.

4. A gun carriage comprising a chassis, means for propelling the chassis, a floor rotatable with respect to the chassis, a gun carried by the floor, a gunners seat carried by the floor and arranged to the rear of the gun, means for rotating the floor, embodying a foot-pedal arranged forward of the seat, and said gun, seat and pedal remaining in the same relative position with respect to one another as the floor is rotated, and said pedal when moved acting to turn the floor in a step by step movement, substantially as described.

5. A gun carriage comprising a chassis,

means for propelling the chassis, a fioor rotatablymounted with respect to the chassis, a gun carried by the floor, a gunners seat carried by the floor and to the rear of the gun, means for rotating the floor, including companion actuating members arranged at the forward portion of the floor with one of said actuating members on each side of the gun, a connection between one of said actuating members and the rotating means for moving the rotating means to turn the floor in one direction, a connection between the other actuating member and rotating means for turning the floor in the opposite direction,

and said actuating members being arranged for operation by the feet of the user, and said seat, gun and actuating; members remaining in the same relative position'when the floor is turned, substantially as described.

'6. A gun carriage comprising a chassis, a frame carried by the chassis, a floor mounted torevo-lve with respect to the chassis, a gun *carried by the floor, a-gunners seat carried by the floor and to the rear of the gun, companion foot-pedals carried bythe floor, one

and the other of said pedals, and said gun, gunners seat and pedals all maintaining the sameprelative position with respect to Copies of this patent may be obtained for one another as thez floor is revolved, substantially as described.

r. Agun carriage comprising a chassis, a

floor adaptedto revolve with respect to said chassis, ZLQHILCcLITlGCl by said floor; a gunners seat carried by sa1d floor and-arranged to the rear ofwthe gun, companion footpedals, one on each side of the gun arranged forward of said seat, a ratchet attached to the floor, a ratchet attached'to the chassis concentric with the floor,ratchet,.compan ion arms extending to opposite sides of-the ratchets and mountednto swing ina path concentric with the ratchets, an actuating pawl and a locking pawl on each arm, the actuating pawl cooperating with the floor ratchet and the locking pawl cooperating with the chassis ratchet, a connection be- ,tween each of saidarms and afoot-pedal,

and said gun, seat and pedals all maintaining the same relative position with respect to one another as the floor 1s revolved, substantlally as described.

ADOLPH ANDERSON.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

